Immortal Strains
There is currently four strains in existence which confers a conditional immortality on mortals, that of the Kinderven, Striga and the Vigil. Whilst strains form groups of individuals that share characteristics and often associate with each other, it must be noted that they are not races in themselves and sufferers from many different races can be affected by one particular strain. The bonuses and flaws of a strain exist in addition to any bonuses and flaws that the sufferer's standard race holds. The Vigil The Vigil is a strain created by Cassiel to protect, though few of them understand exactly what that means. They were created from individual of the Changeling, Rowan, Verr, Dwarf, Grigori and Lainir races respectively after Cassiel broke up an argument over gold. Their strain can infect any sentient race, however those infected have a fatal weakness to weapons made of gold, even contact with gold will stun. Valassi A strain introduced by M'endar in the Fourth Age to a group of Proteans on Oculus Obscuritatis and this group of Verr spread the strain as their god wished, though mainly the Valassi can be found on Evalon. The strain is spread via a mix of magic and ritual in the 'initiation ceremony'. In this, the Valssi initiate others by going through this sequence of actions: V: '''Do you want to be happy? '''I: Yes V: 'What is that you hate? '''I: '''I hate... '''V: '''Then it will be purged from you. '''Note: '''In this rundown of the ritual, the Valassi performing it is referred to as ''V' while the person being intiated is referred to as 'I'. If it is a matter of the heart, the one with the strain rips the heart (feelings) out in a special manner. If it is a matter of the mind (thoughts) or a matter of the eye (looks), etc, that the respective part will be ripped out like with the example above.The person then is made content and is made immortal and join the ranks of the Valassi. This process, since it is a corruptive one, often makes the newly made Valassi looked withered. Bonuses: *Endless Euphoria: No matter what, those of the Valassi strain are always content. * Transmittable Immortality: Valassi do not suffer the ravages of age nor of disease and can transmit to others. Flaws: * Ignorance Is Bliss: They are not a knowledgeable lot and are just content to spent days, or even decades doing nothing but lounging around. * Immortal, But Killable: The hole that manifests itself on the body during the initiation is their weakness, just reach into it and tear the body apart from there. Kinderven The Kinderven are a group of mortal children infected with a magical ailment which causes the sufferer's bite to become fatally poisonous to anyone who's reached puberty or is younger than about three but converts those in between into a carrier. Any humanoid species who has the appropriate life stage (as of the Fifth Age: Humanity, Grigori, Dwarves, Dues Filli, Lainir, Ekiruru, Stryfe) can be infected but they are most common in Grigori societies where the strain first emerged and human socities where the ailment rapidly spread to. The strain was originally introduced when Roe bit a Grigori child in his fox form in the Second Age. Those with the strain never age physically or mentally beyond the age at which they were bitten. Physically they are indistinguishable from their uninfected counterparts aside from having unusually sharp teeth and being slightly hairier. The bitten child quickly rejects their parents and families and becomes feral but otherwise largely retains their personality, albeit with a very independent streak. They live on the edges of mortal societies, taking what they can to survive, and often living in loose packs. Despite this they rarely attack unprovoked and are in fact often known for having a particularly joyful temperment, befriending regular mortals who will show them attention. Regardless of their species, they hold Roe in particular regard for his creation of their kind. Over the ages the Kinderven have spread across the Niv system, forging particularly close links with the Rowan, who share their worship of Roe. Some groups of the Rowan such as the Kaitists even go as far as worshipping the immortal children. Between the Third and Fith Age, the Kinderven held the city of Quadringa on Coelus, known in it's later days as the Children's Republic, until it's destruction by Zabekiel in the Quadringa massacre. Bonuses: *Transmittable immortality: Kinderven do not age or suffer from non-magical diseases *Poisonous bite: Their bite is fatally poisonous if untreated for all mortals who cannot be converted Weaknesses: *Small body: They are physically weak and relatively uncoordinated compared to adult mortals *Instant kill: Every Kinderven possesses a small toy, trinket or other possession from their former life which they must carry somewhere on their person at all times. Being more than about five metres away from the possession causes them significant pain and it's destruction causes instant death. Striga History: The Striga was the name of a special guild, in which the smartest and most talented Dues Filli gathered. The Striga was a very popular guild, and getting in was nearly impossible. Their leader Kain was a very strong and wise Dues Filli. But as his days began to shorten, he began searching for ways to make himself immortal, but to no avail. When his time had almost run out, a figure appeared before him and offered him immortality. On the condition that he would become his devoted servant. Kain recognized the figure as Melanthios, and without any doubt in his mind he agreed. Kain woke up a couple of hours later with some interesting new powers. He listened to the rules Melanthios had made for him, after that he went to his guild and told them about his deal. The rest of the guild members wanted immortality too, Kain turned all of them into Striga. This small group of turned Striga, later became known as the original 12 Striga. They lead the guild now, and they keep the younger members in check. The Striga have since then recruited many old and very wise Dues Filli, or very young and talented Dues Filli. They are held in high regarded by normal Dues Filli, and being allowed to be one is a great h onor. The Striga also act as something like priests, giving lectures about their findings and telling people about Melanthios. Appearance: The Striga heavily resemble the Dues Filli. The only differences are: Striga's always have light gray hair. They look to be somewhere between the age of 20 and the age of 30. There is a certain darkness hanging around them, and they wear many pieces of jewelry. Bonuses: *Immortal: The Striga are immortal. Expect for the 2 ways to kill them, they can't be killed. *Masters of dark types of magic: The Striga's are masters in all types of dark magic. Magic like: demon magic, blood magic, dark magic, necromancy etc. *Perfect bodies: The bodies of the Striga are 'perfect.' They are much stronger, faster and can endure more then normal Dues Filli. *Godly messengers: The Striga are referred to this in the Dues Filli society. And they in turn pray to their god Melanthios, they are all very loyal to him. They couldn't betray him, even if they wanted to. Flaws: *Blood survival: The Striga need blood to survive. They need about 500 ml Dues Filli blood a day. If they don't drink enough blood this what happens: ::: Day 1: The Striga feels a bit weaker, and begins to crave blood more. ::: Day 4: The Striga weakens significantly, his body weakening to the point of a normal Dues Filli. ::: Day 8: The Striga gets sick, the sickness looks a bit like a severe form of fever. Their magical power also begins to weaken, and they become brittle. ::: Day 12: The Striga's magical powers vanishes. Their body drops in strength ::: , to a level far below that of an ordinary Dues Filli. Their sickness gets heavier, and their craving for blood is almost impossible to withstand. ::: Day 14: The Striga is completely dehydrated. His appearance shows this, as his skin is very dry and he looks exhausted. Their bodies weaken even further making them almost impossible of moving, and their craving for blood gets impossible to ignore. : When they get enough blood however they instantly regenerate. *Supremacy: The Striga view themselves as superior to normal Dues Filli. And they view other races as less worthy, they are also quite cocky. They have a general dislike for any non Dues Filli, and will generally act as if they are better then other people. Instant death methods: #Jewellary: Destroying a certain piece of jewellary, which holds their soul inside it. #Elemental: Every Striga has a weakness to a certain element. They can be killed when hit with enough of this certain element. The Soulless Known as the Soulless, these are among the most dangerous of immortals. It is said that at midnight, if you are alone and say the words "I wish to make a deal" a devil will appear before you and offer you a contract. You will gain immortality and strange new powers at the cost of your soul and that which you love above all else. Should you accept the bargain you will ascend, becoming immortal and shedding your soul, which the devil will collect. You will then be provided with a copy of your soul contract. Few know what becomes of the souls the soulless discard. Some whisper that the devils are collecting them for something, though no one knows what for. Bonuses: *Immortality: The Soulless undergo a transformation process when they make their pacts. Their bodies attain a physical beauty and they do not suffer from the cruel flow of time. *Demonic Embrace: The Soulless get powers unlike any other. They can summon monsters and dominate the weak minded. Their corruptive powers are unspeakably deadly. Flaws: *Instant Kill: The Soulless must have their soul contract near them at all times (no more than 10 feet away). If the contract is destroyed, then the Soulless is destroyed with it. *Solitary: A side effect of losing your soul is losing your sympathy, empathy, and sense of pity. Most Soulless consider this to be a minor drawback, however it does keep them from making close connections with people, and virtually guarantees that they remain mostly solitary for the duration of their lives.